Google has finally launched the Perspectives search filter, a new feature that aims to give users a more comprehensive view of a topic by surfacing long- and short-form videos, images, and written posts that people have shared on discussion boards, Q&A sites, and social media platforms.
The feature was announced at Google I/O in May, and has been in testing since then. It is now available to users in the US on mobile devices.
To use the Perspectives filter, simply search for a topic and then tap on the “Perspectives” filter at the top of the results page. This will filter the results to show only content that has been shared by people on discussion boards, Q&A sites, and social media platforms.
Google says that the Perspectives filter will help users to “get a more lived experience” of a topic by seeing how other people have talked about it. The company also says that the filter will help to surface “diverse voices and perspectives” on a topic.
The Perspectives filter is not the first time that Google has tried to surface user-generated content in its search results. In 2017, the company launched a feature called “Answers” that showed users answers to questions that had been submitted by other users. However, the Answers feature was discontinued in 2019.
It remains to be seen whether the Perspectives filter will be more successful than the Answers feature. However, it is clear that Google is committed to giving users a more comprehensive view of a topic bysurfacing user-generated content.
In addition to the Perspectives filter, Google has also made a number of other changes to its search results. For example, the company has started to show more images in its search results, and it has also started to show more local results.
These changes are part of Google’s ongoing effort to make its search results more relevant and useful to users. Bysurfacing user-generated content and by showing more images and local results, Google is hoping to give users a more complete picture of a topic.
Benefits of the Perspectives search filter
The Perspectives search filter offers a number of benefits to users, including:
- A more comprehensive view of a topic: The Perspectives filter allows users to see how other people have talked about a topic, which can help them to get a more comprehensive understanding of it.
- Diverse voices and perspectives: The Perspectives filter surfaces content from a variety of sources, which can help users to hear from a variety of voices and perspectives on a topic.
- More relevant results: The Perspectives filter can help users to find more relevant results bysurfacing content that is shared by people who are knowledgeable about the topic.
How to use the Perspectives search filter
To use the Perspectives search filter, simply follow these steps:
- Search for a topic on Google.
- Tap on the “Perspectives” filter at the top of the results page.
- The results will be filtered to show only content that has been shared by people on discussion boards, Q&A sites, and social media platforms.
Limitations of the Perspectives search filter
The Perspectives search filter is not without its limitations. For example, the filter does not include all user-generated content. Additionally, the filter can sometimes surface biased or inaccurate content.
Despite these limitations, the Perspectives search filter is a valuable tool that can help users to get a more comprehensive view of a topic.
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